


Stories of the Second Self: Nothing So Low

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [45]
Category: Police - Fandom, Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:54:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22533574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Still in the early days of Alter Idem Officer Daniel Yi finished up an assist flight to cops conducting a search for a suspect. Daniel is called into Captain Barnes' office, where he is met with two officials from the Federal Aviation Administration. The pending news doesn't feel like it will be good.
Series: Alter Idem [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Nothing So Low

"Officer Yi, in my office please," Captain Barnes called out.

Daniel had just landed from a flight over a neighborhood to assist officers on the ground during an arrest. He developed a habit of wearing his flight jacket pretty much any time he was outside, in hopes of keeping unwanted attention from the odd-shaped bulging on the upper back of his shirt. Entering Captain Barnes' office, Daniel Yi noticed two other suited men in chairs to Barnes' left.

"Could you get the blinds, please?" Barnes asked Yi.

While he did, Daniel heard one of the men introduce himself and the other man at his side, "I'm Luther Sustrans and this is Dr. Ronald Winters. We're from the FAA."

Sitting back down, Daniel looked to Captain Barnes. "What's this about?"

"Could you remove the jacket?" Dr. Winters asked and pointed.

"Why?" Daniel asked, growing nervous.

"We need to ascertain your medical fitness," Luther Sustrans said, "So that requires you comply with Dr. Winters' instructions."

"You're doing a medical exam in here?" Daniel wondered, as he took the jacket off.

"Hmm," Dr. Winters verbalized, and then looked to Sustrans.

Barnes leaned over to look for himself while remarking, "Are those what I think they are, Patrolman Yi?"

Daniel looked off to the side, but answered, "I keep them covered up, Sir. I understand they can be a distraction...."

Sustrans interrupted at that point. "We have reason to believe that they distract you."

"Excuse me?" Daniel said, turning to Sustrans with suspicion.

"Given the current progress in growth, I'd say you've had them for- what? Four, maybe five months?" Dr. Winters guessed.

"About that," Daniel said, "Yeah, so what?"

"They're here about your flight during the Highway 75 pursuit back a couple months ago," Barnes advised.

"There weren't any problems," Daniel defended, "I handled that just fine. Kept in contact with Traffic Control, advised news flights of their range to us, and anticipated one of their hot dog pilots trying to get closer to the action despite entering our flight path. I worked completely around him."

"Yes, it was remarkable," Sustrans appeared to praise, at first. "So much so that your copilot noted you didn't look at your instruments."

"Sir," Daniel addressed Sustrans, hoping proper respect would stave off any appearance of insubordination. "I had to keep my eye on the news bird trying to get into our face for their camera shot. I maintained a steady altitude of 1500 feet throughout the encounter. Until, that is, I was requested by officers on the ground to drop to 500 to assist, when the suspect fled on foot through neighborhoods."

"All without checking your instruments even once," Sustrans added.

It occurred to Daniel that he was right, and only now did Daniel realize this wasn't about poor performance. "What are you suggesting?"

"Officer Yi," Dr. Winters addressed, "I've handled a large number of these cases. Pilots who, after developing these growths, suddenly no longer appear to need instrumentation, and start flying by the seat of their pants. Except, their performance seems to improve until the wings become large enough that it interferes with cockpit control operation."

Daniel figured where this was going, and his expression turned dour. "Look, that was a clean flight. I don't even think these will get any bigger."

"They will," Sustrans stated, "We've determined that they interfere most with helicopter operation, but have become a problem for fixed-wing pilots also. The secondary humerus grows from the scapula and moves with the arms along an anterior-posterior range of freedom. Unexpected shifts in the aircraft have caused some pilots to flip them out as if they needed to steady themselves independent of the aircraft."

"That's not going to happen," Denial tried sounding sure of himself.

"There's nothing personal in this, Officer Yi," Sustrans said, "As a pilot myself, I have no love for doing this. You're being designated medically unfit to fly under AGP, which was instituted under the FAA emergency session six months ago. I'm sorry."

"Daniel," Barnes spoke up, "I've spoken with the watch commanders, and we can arrange for you either for street patrol work in this department or wherever you want to transfer. I've looked at your sidearm qualifications, and they're excellent. There's no reason you have to let this keep you from being a cop."

Daniel's shirt felt tighter than usual, and that's when he realized it correlated with his desire to just leave now and be off by himself. It was as if he hoped to fly out of the chair and avoid everyone and everything, even the ground. The thought made him queasy, as Daniel wasn't fond of heights outside of the aircraft he had direct control over.

"We have this prepared folder with all the documentation," Sustrans said, now standing beside Daniel holding the folder out. "I really am sorry. From your record before this, you were a good pilot."

Grabbing the folder, Daniel didn't look at it. He knew there was a document he'd have to sign acknowledging that he understood the reasons, but he couldn't bring himself to open it up.

Both Sustrans and Dr. Winters exited and closed the door, leaving Daniels with Captain Barnes.

"Does your family know about this, Daniel?" Barnes asked.

Discouraged, he nodded. "My mother knows."

"How did she take it?" Barnes inquired on.

"She's an old school believer," Daniels explained with distaste, "So she just loves the idea. Her son's going to be an angel. She could've asked for help from the chemo or maybe just have Saint So-And-So made the cancer go away, but she wants this even more."

"Not religious, huh?" Barnes surmised, "The irony."

Daniel ran a hand through his hair, doubly uncomfortable with the development of his life. "I guess it's true, I can't hide these forever. Every angel fanatic's going to see and get all googly eyed about it."

"At least you're not in Lieutenant Reigns' position," Barnes offered, "People in the department are calling him Officer Rudolph now, you know like...."

Daniel finished for him, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, yeah I know Cap. I'll have you know I personally never called him that."

Barnes shook his head. "I hear 'ya, it's not fair."


End file.
